Hunter of Mysterious Creature-Chapter 574 - 136: The Death of the Liaison

"Forget it, forget it, let's lock him up for now." Yang Qi said helplessly, "Sun Hang, when you have time, contact Mr. Pei and ask him what he plans to do with Yao Yu... Additionally, there's a temporary task that requires you, Sun Hang, to make a trip."

"Seriously? I just got back and you're putting me right back to work like an ox or a horse?" Sun Hang complained, "Mr. Yang, were you a lamp post accessory in your past life?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"There's no other choice. Manpower is tight in Celestial City right now, and this task does carry a certain degree of danger. Sending someone from the Field Operations Department could result in casualties. After considering all options, you're the safest choice..."

Before Yang Qi could finish, Wang Xiyi interrupted her, "If Sun Hang doesn't go, then I'll go! I've been cooped up at the office for too long and it's driving me crazy! Let Sun Hang stay behind to handle security work, and I'll take his place on this task, doesn't that sound perfect?"

"Well... that could work too." Yang Qi thought for a moment and said.

"What does the task entail?"

"It's related to the deceased contact." Yang Qi said, "The contact's name was Qiao Liu, female, 31 years old, unmarried, a local of Celestial City, and owner of the 'Qingzhu Bar' in the eastern part of the city. Her parents have passed away, and she has no close relatives or friends. Her only social connections are the employees and patrons of the bar. She has no criminal record and pays taxes and social insurance on time every month..."

"She sounds like a paragon of federal citizenship." Wang Xiyi commented.

"If it weren't for Yao Yu voluntarily confessing, no one would have imagined that Qiao Liu was involved with a cult organization. Her phone and personal computer's search and browsing history are very clean—I mean the content is clean, not that it was wiped clean. She totally fits the profile of a thirty-year-old single middle-class woman... We can't even find out when she joined that cult organization."

"By the way, does this cult organization have a name?" Ye Xuan, arms crossed over her chest, asked as she glanced at Yao Yu through the one-way glass.

"No, even Yao Yu doesn't know the real name of the organization." Yang Qi said, "He told us that 'the organization' is just that—an organization. However, it has been temporarily labeled as A11 in our internal records."

"What does A11 mean?" Sun Hang asked.

"A refers to the danger level, and 11 signifies that this organization is the eleventh A-level cult organization we've discovered." Song Yarong explained on behalf of Yang Qi, "The highest danger level is S, and the lowest is D. The cult organization you previously dismantled, the one that raised the Taishan monsters, was labeled C35."

"You haven't even fully investigated this organization yet, and it's already rated as A-level?" Sun Hang was somewhat puzzled.

"The weights of Wen Ya and Yao Yu are enough to elevate this organization to A-level danger." Yang Qi said.

"Are there any S-level cult organizations?"

"Not at the moment, but before the Hezhong States fell, across the ocean, there was once a large cult organization that could even directly contend with the official military of the Hezhong States. That organization was called the 'Tongzhou Association,' and it was identified as the only S-level cult organization in human civilization history. However, nowadays, we typically refer to it by name rather than this coding system."

"Hey, hey, the topic has veered off course." Wang Xiyi said, "Let's get back to it. What exactly has been found regarding this woman named Qiao Liu?"

"Qiao Liu grew up in Celestial City and has never left. Her mother passed away from an illness when she was 12, and her father, an accountant, died in a car accident when she was 21, leaving her a substantial inheritance and compensation. The following year, she graduated from the Financial Management Department of Celestial University and used the money to buy a failed restaurant in the east of the city, transforming it into the current 'Qingzhu Bar.'" Yang Qi said.

"She's never even left Celestial City, so how did she come into contact with the A11 organization?" Wang Xiyi wondered.

"Given A11's size, they probably have people all over the federation... that's not so surprising." Ye Xuan shook her head, "Did Qiao Liu have any romantic experiences?"

"None, her life was as calm as a stagnant pool. She never dated during her student years and was considered a transparent person with little presence in her class. Maybe her only distinguishing feature was that her grades were decent enough to get into the third-ranking Celestial University. After she started running the bar, her good looks and solid financial standing attracted many suitors, but according to regulars at Qingzhu Bar, these suitors were all invariably rejected by the owner. Qiao Liu never displayed any intimate relationships with any male, and these patrons even suspected that Qiao Liu might be a lesbian."

"So what about women? Was there a woman she was particularly close to?" Wang Xiyi asked, "She might really be a lesbian."

"No, there wasn't." Yang Qi said, "It actually has nothing to do with gender—according to the investigation report, she rarely engaged in unnecessary communication with others... The bartender at Qingzhu Bar stated that the owner frequently sat by the window in the bar, staring blankly at the large fish tank embedded in the floor-to-ceiling window."

"To be honest, I've reviewed all the information related to Qiao Liu." Song Yarong said, "Aside from Yao Yu's one-sided testimony and the fact of Qiao Liu's death, there's no information linking her to the cult organization."

"So with all that said, what does the task actually involve?" Wang Xiyi asked impatiently, "It can't be to investigate the case of Qiao Liu's death, can it?"